BACH TO BEER! BYOB group piano classes in Chicago

December 7, 2012

Hello everyone! Billy and I have known each other for a long time, primarily on account of my alter ego, C-note – the lead singer for Too White Crew, but today’s blog is not about that. He’s letting me take up some bandwidth to tell you about a fresh new business I started in the West Loop…

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to play piano, I’ve just made it as easy, fun and inviting as possible.

The Musical U is the first of its kind anywhere – a group piano lesson studio with a state-of-the-art digital piano lab and multi-media learning in a relaxed, BYOB setting.

After years of hearing friends talk about how they wished they could play piano, I decided to take a look at why grown ups haven’t done it so I can make sure that The Musical U flattens each of those issues: People want to have fun learning, they don’t want to have to buy an expensive piano and commit to a long-term, expensive private lesson regimen just to try lessons and no adult wants to play through six months of nursery rhymes before getting to say, Elton John or Alicia Keys.

So I built a studio that not only addresses these issues, but I’ve also added social and BYOB elements to give it a great sense of, ”We’re all in this together.”

The headset communication system allows for two-way communication between the teacher and the students. Plasma TV’s show the teacher’s hand positions or musical scores. It’s also green-friendly, encouraging students to bring iPads to store their lessons, cutting down on paper lessons and books. Each piano even has a USB charging station…and of course a cup holder for your favorite adult beverage.

The Adult Piano 101 classes are affordable ($25/class), and each lesson even offers an educational segment on a composer, artist, musical style, genre or some other musical “thing you should know.” I’m also introducing a full curriculum in 2013 including singer/songwriter classes, theory classes, improvisation classes, parent-child classes…and instructional courses in auditioning, microphone technique and stage presence.